


No, sir. Not in the slightest.

by JustAnotherMarvelGirl



Series: One Step Ahead [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dom/sub Undertones, F/M, Mentions of Murder, Smut, Some Plot, Some angst, agent!vision, criminal!wanda, mentions of past trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23813920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherMarvelGirl/pseuds/JustAnotherMarvelGirl
Summary: She needed to get one step ahead of him to get him off her scent.He needed to get one step ahead of her in order to finally build a case against her.Neither of them was aware that all those steps would do was take them closer to each other.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Series: One Step Ahead [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715770
Comments: 76
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I like the way "Agent, are you even listening to me?" is and I wanted to leave it is a standalone fic, but I also wanted to write a sequel so I'm making this a series.
> 
> I believe reading that fic first is required before you read this, because this literally starts where that one left off.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Also, a huge thank you to Darthelwig for support and for continuously cheering me on!

“That was too close for comfort”, Nat stated, voice serious as she somehow managed to both constantly check their surroundings to see if they were being followed and throw Wanda worried glances through the rearview mirror. 

“I agree. They’re onto us. For the past two missions they were right there, waiting for us…” Steve sighed, running his hand through his hair. “We need to lay low. Change our plans, get off the grid for at least a few weeks”. 

Wanda winced, both because their carefully laid plans seemed to be crumbling around them, and because she couldn’t stand hearing all his words repeated through her earpiece anymore. 

The small device was the reason she was in the car, safe. It had allowed her team to track her down and communicate with her while they prepared an escape route, but the buzzing caused by the proximity to Steve’s microphone was starting to make her dizzy. 

“God, Wanda, are you hurt? We just need to get somewhere safe before Nat can stop and get these off you”, Steve said, his blue eyes filled with concern as he started to rub her wrists where they were still bound by the handcuffs. 

Blue. 

_But the wrong shade of blue_ , her mind supplied, making her shake her head both as an answer to Steve and an attempt to chase those thoughts away. 

“No, I’m ok, just please get this thing out of my ear. I’d do it myself, but my hands are otherwise occupied”, she managed to say, nodding towards her hands and slightly raising them. 

The action made Steve let out an incredulous chuckle and shake his head at her lame attempt of a joke, but he still reached towards her ear and took out the offending device. 

“Didn’t you turn your microphone off once you got in the car?”, Nat demanded with a stern voice as she shot him a disapproving look through the mirror. Wanda was, as always, glad that look wasn’t directed at her. No one in their right mind wanted to get on Natasha Romanov’s bad side. 

“I’m sorry, Wanda, it all happened so fast. I was focused only on getting you to safety, I completely forgot how uncomfortable that sensation could be”. 

“Don’t worry about it”, Wanda smiled, swamped with relief that she wasn’t handcuffed in the back of a different vehicle. 

“Thank you both for coming back for me”, she added quietly, trying to keep the unpleasant thoughts of what could have been for when she was alone. That fear was always in the back of her mind, the possibility of getting caught, being locked away for life… Their lifestyle demanded her to be aware of it at all times. 

But it had never felt so real before. Or so terrifying. 

“The Avengers are a family, we leave no one behind, you know that. Besides, your warning was the reason the two of us managed to get out in time. If the roles were reversed, you would have done the same”. 

Wanda nodded. He was right, she would have. 

She had no one else left on this Earth, no one but the two of them. Without them, she’d have no reason to get up in the morning. 

She had been a shell of a person when they found her, unwilling to live, unwilling to fight. She had had nothing to keep her going back then, but she found her purpose with them. 

To make the world a better place, one target at a time. 

*** 

“I don’t think we were followed, but we can never be too careful, especially not now”, Nat said once she finally stopped the car. Wanda couldn’t stop the sigh of relief from leaving her lips. Her arms and wrists were aching. 

“I’ll go scan the area”, Steve nodded in response to her unstated request, holding the door for her to scramble into the back seat with Wanda. 

“This will only take a moment”, Nat murmured, her nimble fingers quickly picking the lock with a hairpin. 

Wanda hissed at the feeling of blood rushing back into her joints, bringing her hands in front of her and massaging her aching muscles. 

“You did great today, kiddo”, Nat told her, a gentle smile on her face as she rubbed her shoulders and upper arms, parts that were too difficult for Wanda to reach in her current state. 

Wanda did all she could to fight the blush spreading on her face at her words. 

At the memories they brought. 

“We need _more time_ ”, Nat had hissed in her ear and Wanda knew what she had to do. 

She couldn’t overpower him, not handcuffed and in heels, and she wouldn’t have gotten far on surprise alone without the escape car waiting outside. 

Steve’s escape methods were out of question, so she had to use Nat’s. 

She had seen Nat in action numerous times, practiced with her even more. 

She had known just how to position herself, which words to utter, where to let her accent come out… 

Yes, the technical part had been easy. 

Controlling her emotions, however, was not. 

“You keep this up and I’ll be out of a job. Perhaps I should let _you_ do the seducing next time”, Nat added, the lightness of her voice betraying her amusement at the prospect. 

Wanda shuddered at the thought. 

She could never do what Nat did. 

She could never make herself act that way with old perverts. 

But why did she have no troubles with _him_? 

“I think I’ll pass”, she laughed, having no desire for that sort of experimentation. She didn’t envy her in the slightest. 

Nat had the most difficult job of the three of them. She was the bait, she had to lure the targets in, make them trust her. Lust for her. And she was exceptionally good at it. Some of their targets were already aware that they were in danger, knew that they were being hunted, but that didn’t make them any less weak to her charms. By the time their eyes moved from her curves to her face, they were already dead. She was as deadly as she was beautiful.

Steve, too, was trained in the art of seduction, disarming the targets with his charm and his perfectly chiseled body. But he was also the muscle of their group, always looking out for them, always there to protect them and act whenever pure strength was needed to achieve their goals. He made them feel safe. 

And she, she was the brains. She scoped out targets, both _them_ and any other filth they came across, made plans, organized their missions… And during the missions she was there to keep an eye out for potential threats. She liked her tasks. She was good at them. 

And yet it seemed like she had met her match. 

Wanda groaned and hid her head in her palms. 

“What am I doing wrong Nat, where did I slip up?”, she asked, not bothering to look up. 

“You didn’t. But he’s obviously good. He’s gotten into your head. As Steve said, we need to lay low now, get him off our scent. It’s gonna be alright”, Nat promised, her hand a pleasant weight on her shoulder. 

Wanda knew she was right. 

He was good. 

But so was she. 

She supposed she was lucky that he was so much like her. He could predict her moves, but she could also predict his. The reason she noticed him that quickly was because he had been standing in the exact same spot that she would have chosen for surveying the area. 

They were more alike than she wanted to admit.

“There is another possibility for him knowing the last two targets though”, Nat added, but Wanda shook her head. 

“I doubt it. He would have tried to kill me, not capture me”, she muttered into her palms. 

_Or he wanted you alive to get to us_ , Nat’s silence seemed to say, but she refrained from further comments. 

“All clear”, came Steve’s voice as he opened the door next to her, finally making her look up. 

Nat nodded in acknowledgment before wrapping her arms around Wanda in a firm hug. 

“Come, kiddo, let’s get you home”. 

*** 

“Will you stop moping?”, Nat asked as she entered their shared bedroom. 

“I’m not moping”, Wanda huffed indignantly. 

She wasn’t. 

“No? Then why have you been sitting here with an expression sour enough to rival a jug of undiluted, unsweetened lemonade?” 

Wanda felt the hints of a smile tug at her lips at the comparison, despite her bad mood. 

“Maybe I’m just bored. We’ve been stuck here for a week and a half, unable to do anything, while _they_ and others like them are still out there. Hurting innocents. Breathing the same air as us”, she spat, angry not at Nat, but at _him_. 

The reason they had closed themselves off in one of their safehouses to regroup. The reason that she was unable to continue planning for a while and had to let Steve and Nat choose their next missions, only helping with a couple of suggestions here and there. 

It was all _his_ fault. 

She just wanted to yell at his stupid, perfect, handsome face… 

Wait what? 

Her train of thoughts startled her and she knew that Nat had noticed. She quickly diverted her eyes so she wouldn’t have to face her friend’s raised eyebrow and the telltale smirk. 

“Maybe… But I’m willing to bet that the real reason has something to do with that agent of yours”. 

“He’s not mine”, she snapped. 

She let her eyes fall on Nat’s face and sighed. The smirk was now even wider. 

“Whatever you say”, she sang, throwing her one final amused look over the shoulder before leaving the room. 

Wanda sighed again and let herself fall back on the bed. 

He was _not_ hers. 

The only reason that he was occupying so many of her thoughts was because she hated him. He stood between her and her purpose. 

It had nothing to do with the heat in his eyes as he stared at her. 

Nothing to do with the tormented expression on his beautiful face as she brought her lips as close to his as possible without touching them. 

She wondered what would have happened if Nat had taken a bit longer to get the car. If Steve had needed a bit more time to reach the door. 

She would have kissed him. There was no doubt about it. She would have had to stall for time and that was the only logical option. 

But what would _he_ have done? 

Would he have pushed her away? 

Or would he have surrendered into the kiss? Would he have pulled her closer to him and kissed her with so much passion that she would be begging him to uncuff her, not so that she could escape, but so that she could wrap her arms around him? 

Wanda groaned, hiding her face behind a pillow. 

She needed to get him out of her mind. 

He hadn’t been unaffected, that much was clear. But _she_ was supposed to be! 

And yet, she wasn’t. 

The heat behind her words had been real. 

The desire to run her hands all over his body and crumple that perfect fucking suit of his had also been very real. 

But the thrill… The thrill had been the worst. 

The fact that being at his mercy, helpless, made her feel _thrilled_ with anticipation instead of terrified as she should have been made her want to hit something. 

No, the thrill wasn’t the worst thing. 

The worst thing was that _she had liked it_. 

*** 

“This obsession needs to stop”, Steve said, expression unreadable as he found her once again going through everything S.H.I.E.L.D. database had on a certain agent. She had read it all, numerous times, but it wasn’t enough. 

She needed to get at least one step ahead of him again, restore the status quo, but there was only so much she could learn from his file and official records. She didn’t dare dig too deep into S.H.I.E.L.D.’s systems, it wouldn’t do to alert someone of her presence. Of how easy it had been to hack through their defenses and get the information she needed… 

“We have been careless Steve. We have assumed that he was just like those who have been on our case before. Incapable. With no imagination. But he’s different. He’s managed to get inside my head, predict our actions, and now I must get inside his”. 

“Tell me that’s all that this is”, he implored, his sad eyes staring right into her soul. “Tell me it was all just an act. He is an enemy, Wanda, and he might not be completely immune to your charms, but he was going to lock you up regardless”. 

His words reminded her once again that both he and Nat had heard every word. Every hitch of breath. 

He was right. Wanda knew he was. Agent Victor Shade was dangerous. The fact that he was infuriatingly handsome made him even more so. 

And yet, his official report from London showed that he had failed to mention their encounter. 

Wanda didn’t know what to make of that. 

She couldn’t help but wonder, again, where his loyalties lied.

He seemed to have figured out that there was a connection between their targets, but she had no idea if he knew _how_ and _why_ most of them were connected or if he thought the same thing that the general public believed, that they were simply going after the rich sexual predators and affluent businessmen who meddled in muddy affairs. She secretly hoped for the latter, because the other option would be too horrifying to consider. 

No. None of her research had ever connected him with _them_. She doubted he was even aware of _their_ existence. No, he was simply so much like her, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. 

Steve came closer and put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes never leaving hers. 

“You know what _they_ would have done to you in there”, he continued, voice trembling. “I can’t let that happen. I can’t lose you too”. 

“Oh Steve…”, she sighed, pulling him into a hug. He almost never let anyone see him this vulnerable, he was always the strong one. He rarely shared glimpses of his painful past, but Wanda was one of the very few people he let in, one of the only ones who knew why this was so important to him.

She knew about Bucky. 

She also knew that Nat and she were his only family. 

“You won’t lose me. But that’s exactly _why_ I have to do this. I have to learn all that I can, analyze the threat that he poses to us. So that we can continue to do what we do best. Take _them_ down. Make this world a safer place”. 

Steve pulled away and nodded. 

“I know. But I don’t like it… Just promise me you won’t try to take matters into your own hands and track him down alone”, he said. His eyes told her he knew that was exactly what she was planning to do. 

“I will stay out of sight. I just need to get a feel of his daily routine, figure him out. There’s only so much I can learn from files”. 

“That is not an option. Not after what happened in London. What if you need another emergency extraction?” 

“I have less chance of being noticed if I’m alone. If either one of us gets recognized it will draw suspicion to the others. I’ll stay in contact. I promise. Besides, this time _I’m_ going to be the one tracking _him_. This time I’ll be prepared”, she said, trying to convince herself as much as him. 

Steve sighed in defeat at her words and tone. He knew he couldn’t dissuade her. 

“If I could forbid you, I would. But I know you’d do it anyway”, he said with the tiniest hint of a smile. “I still insist that Nat and I be somewhere close, out of sight. You’re the best at reading people, otherwise I would have suggested that we take turns surveilling him, but you still need someone to have your back. We all do”. 

After a few minutes, Wanda finally nodded. She could dissuade him no more than he could dissuade her. As long as they stayed hidden, it would be alright. Besides, it felt good to know that they would be close by. 

She just hoped the added security wouldn’t make her more reckless. 

She hoped those blue eyes wouldn’t either. 

*** 

Wanda spent the next fifteen days mostly bored out of her mind. 

The man seemed to leave the apartment only to get tea in the nearby coffee shop (Earl Grey, no sugar) and groceries. He seemed to prefer working from home, even though she did trail him during his commute to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s London headquarters two times a week. 

She had managed to make her spot on the roof of the neighboring building quite cozy. She had the perfect view of his living room, which was where he spent most time anyway, holed up behind his laptop, or scribbling on the many papers and pictures strewn across his table. 

Even without her binoculars she would have been sure many of those were of her. 

He was meticulous, that much was certain, but she knew that the most of his work was on his laptop, the laptop he smartly held facing away from the window. 

It was those times, when he was typing away on his laptop, that she was bored the most. 

And then there were moments when she wasn’t bored at all. 

The first time that it happened, she had been so shocked she couldn’t even avert her gaze. He came out of his bathroom in nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, the sight of his toned muscles making Wanda groan. 

She was at least glad she had remembered to turn her microphone off to conserve power. She could just hear Nat’s teasing voice in her ear, asking her if everything was alright. 

Everything _wasn’t_ alright. 

_Nothing_ was alright. 

Why were her eyes not obeying her? 

She willed them to look away, staring at him was so very wrong, but all they could do was roam over each uncovered inch of his body. 

And what a body it was… 

Wanda felt her mouth water as he turned towards his bedroom, replacing the view of his pecs and abs with the one of his back. 

What would it feel like to run her nails across it? 

Leave her mark? 

The sight of the bedroom door closing behind him had been both a relief and a disappointment. 

The subsequent times it happened had been even worse. 

It seemed like he was spending more and more time in the living room after his showers, going to his bedroom later and later. 

Walking around in that tiny towel… 

Going to get some water in the kitchen… 

Stretching his arms behind his head, the movement making his muscles ripple and the offending towel drop impossibly lower… 

Unknowingly _taunting_ her with everything he did. 

Each time she promised herself she would look away the next time. 

She never did. 

Wanda sighed into her palms. Perhaps she would have to ask Nat to take over from her. She was getting emotionally compromised, there was no other explanation. 

Falling for the one man who had the power to stop her, completely destroy her life? The one man she most definitely couldn’t have? 

How fucking typical. 

_Tell me that’s all that this is. Tell me it was all just an act_ … 

Steve’s voice was still very clear in her mind. 

What wasn’t so clear anymore was her answer. 

*** 

“It’s been 16 days guys, I _have to_ try”, Wanda hissed into the phone. Today was the day. He always went to S.H.I.E.L.D HQ on Fridays. It should give her enough time to do what she had in mind. 

“It’s too risky”, Steve’s voice rang in her ear. “He could have a hidden intruder alert, he could come back early, anything could happen”. 

“Then what do you expect me to do? I’ve learned all I could from watching him, but I need audio. And I need the information from his laptop. It won’t take me longer than 20 minutes to bug the place and install a spyware on his laptop. It’s a risk I’m willing to take”. 

“Are you?”, Nat asked. “If bad comes to worse, if you’re caught, how far are you willing to go? We’ve already established he’s not with _them_ and I somehow think you’re not up for killing innocent people, not even those who are trying to put you behind bars”. 

She was right. She couldn’t kill him, even if she wasn’t so infatuated by him. They went only after people who deserved it, and his only crime was standing in their path. 

“It won’t come to that. Besides, even if it does, I’m sure I can distract him long enough for you two to figure out a way to get me out of there”. 

The images of _how exactly_ she wanted to distract him quickly filled her mind and she did her best to suppress a shiver. 

She wasn’t that successful. 

“That you can”, Nat said, and Wanda knew there was a big grin on her face. She heard Steve chuckle and was sure it was followed by an eyeroll. 

“Fine. But stay in contact. Any sort of trouble and you’ll let us know, alright?”, Steve conceded. 

“I promise!” 

She hung up the phone and quickly grabbed her equipment. She watched as Vision left first his apartment and then the building, waiting fifteen extra minutes to be sure he was out of sight. 

Getting inside his flat was a piece of cake. He really should up his security, Wanda thought with a slight smirk on her face. Well, she wasn’t complaining. The quicker she got in and out, the better. 

She went to his laptop first, deciding to do the more important and more difficult task first. It took her a bit longer than expected, but after fifteen minutes the spyware was successfully installed and hidden from his threat analyzer programs. 

_Laptop done_ , she quickly texted Steve before moving towards the best strategic spots to place the bugs. 

That task, at least, was going quickly. 

Five more. 

Four more. 

Three. Two. One. 

Wanda let out a sigh of relief as she set the final bug in place. 

Now all she needed was to get out. 

_Task complete_ , she sent. They had agreed to text instead of their usual communication over their earpieces. She’d rather not make a sound so deep in the enemy territory. 

A satisfied grin spread over her face as she put her phone back inside her pocket. 

A satisfied grin that was wiped from her face in an instant. 

“Keep your hands where I can see them, Miss Maximoff”. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Keep your hands where I can see them, Miss Maximoff”.

Vision watched as she went still in front of him.

She slowly did as he asked, raising her hands above her head before turning around to face him.

Her hair was longer now than it had been at the Opera. Chocolate brown this time. She was also dressed much more casually than that night, in a black shirt, a red leather jacket, and jeans that hugged her hips like a second skin.

“Are you here to eliminate me, Miss Maximoff?”

Vision knew that was probably not the case. She had had plenty of opportunities these past few days, but he asked nonetheless.

“If I wanted you dead, you would be dead already”, she said, raising her eyebrow before wincing almost imperceptibly.

Vision fought the urge to smirk at her little slip up. She had no way to know if he had a recording device somewhere on him. He didn’t, but she didn’t have to know that.

“Is that a confession, Miss Maximoff?”, he asked, trying to keep his amusement out of his voice.

“Am I under arrest, agent?”, she countered, avoiding his question.

“That remains to be seen”, he replied, lowering his gun and walking towards her. “All I have for now is breaking and entering, but it could be more serious. I must search you for weapons. Now I can call in a female agent or do it myself. It is your decision”, Vision stated, doing his best to remain professional despite the fact that a primal part of his brain wanted nothing more than to feel her soft body under his hands as he patted her down.

He fought the urge to close his eyes so he could clear his thoughts.

He couldn’t afford it.

Why was she affecting him this much?

He watched as a smile spread over her face for the first time since he arrived. A smile that was pure seduction, but a smile nonetheless.

It made his breath catch in his throat.

“It will be you, agent”, she stated, the tone of her voice making him dizzy.

“Very well then. Turn around, please”.

He already saw the front and back of her hands. He could skip that part. The less time he spent face to face with her the better.

Vision barely breathed as she did what he asked.

Training.

Just remember your training.

Just imagine she looks like Ross. Or Pierce.

The thoughts didn’t calm him down completely, but they helped, and his voice was more levelled when he asked her to spread her arms and legs.

He first checked her ears for an earpiece, not wanting a repeat of last time. He found none.

He then stood behind her and caught her left wrist in his hand, making sure she was secure and he was in an advantageous position.

The moan she let out was barely audible but went straight to his groin.

He patted his right hand along the sleeve on her arm, up to her shoulder. He found nothing.

He then moved to the waist of her jacket, using just the back of his hand.

She took in a shuddering breath.

How could she be so good at this? How could she know exactly which reactions to act out to make him weak before her?

Years of experience, he supposed.

Vision set his mouth in a firm line. He would not succumb to his base instincts.

He continued patting upwards until he reached the underside of her breast. That was as far as he would go. He started to move his hand back to the side when she suddenly slouched a bit, pushing her breast straight into his hand.

He gasped, overwhelmed with the softness of her, even through all the layers of clothing.

His mind was swamped with all the times he had imagined what her breasts would feel like in his hands. All those lonely nights in his bedroom, remembering her closeness, the way she had pushed those perfect mounds towards him, tempting him, teasing him.

Giving him a tiny taste of what he knew he could never have.

Not then.

And not now.

He once again tried to remove his hand from her body, but her free hand shot out and closed around his, making him squeeze her through her clothing.

She moved her whole body backwards at the same time, grinding against his throbbing erection and making him let out a sound he hadn’t even known he was capable of.

His mind was in overdrive, he couldn’t think clearly, and all he was aware of was _her_. The feel of her against him, the softness, the _smell_...

His hips joined hers automatically, meeting her thrust for thrust, and it felt so _good_.

She leaned her head backwards, exposing her neck, and his lips latched onto it of their own accord.

He should stop, his mind was screaming at him to stop, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember _why_.

How could his brain tell him this was wrong when it felt so _right_?

She tried to move the arm that he still held securely in his grasp and he was awarded with a sudden moment of clarity.

It _was_ wrong.

It was the most horrible thing he had ever done.

He froze on the spot, removing his lips from her neck. She let out a whine of protest once he stopped moving his hips, but didn’t stop moving her own.

Except that whine wasn’t real.

None of it was.

“I am _not_ like them”, he managed to grit out. He wished it didn’t take him that much willpower to say it. 

She stopped her movements, craning her neck to look up at him with those breathtaking green eyes, the eyes that were now filled with confusion. 

“Like who?” 

“The ones you go after. You are doing this because you want to get away. I would never forgive myself if I took advantage of this situation. If I took advantage of you…” 

He released her hand and stepped away from her.

One step.

Three steps.

Five.

She turned around and watched him with an unreadable expression.

“What happens now?”, she asked, letting her gaze fall to the floor.

Vision leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes.

He didn’t care that he was in a vulnerable position.

He didn’t care about much at all.

He could guess the reason she was in his apartment. He had noticed her a week ago, when she was trailing him to work. She wasn’t trailing him today, which was the reason he called in sick and went back to his apartment.

It was only logical that she would use the day when he was away to search his apartment, maybe plant a bug or two.

He’d have to make a thorough check once she was gone.

He opened his eyes to look at her. She was still rooted in the spot, twirling her fingers anxiously, and for the first time ever she looked truly vulnerable.

If she wanted to hurt him, she had had plenty of opportunities. She was probably observing him for far longer than he was aware of.

He supposed he was lucky they were so similar. After noticing her on his commute to work, he thought about the best spots for spying on his apartment. The roof of the neighboring building was the obvious choice, and, sure enough, once he knew what to look for, he noticed the sun reflecting of her binoculars easily enough.

It had taken him some time to get used to the fact that he was being observed. He didn’t particularly mind it, but he found himself unable to relax.

The thought of her eyes constantly on him had been disconcerting. It also brought on fantasies of her watching him as he walked around shirtless. So he walked. And stretched. And spent much more time in his towel than was strictly necessary. He had no way of knowing if she was watching, but the _possibility_ was driving him insane with need.

That fantasy now turned to ash in his mouth.

It didn’t matter if she was watching.

He could never be with her. Not while he held so much power over her.

“Now you leave, Miss Maximoff”.

“You’re letting me go?”, she asked, voice incredulous.

“I still don’t have enough to convict you for your crimes, and I am willing to let this little break in slip”, he said with a sigh. He pushed himself away from the wall and crossed his arms, moving so that he wasn’t standing between her and the exit.

“So yes, I am letting you go”.

She nodded, still looking a little dazed.

“Thank you”, she whispered, those big green eyes of hers making his head swirl.

“I don’t want your gratitude, Miss Maximoff”.

The words came out of his mouth much more bitter than he had intended them to be. Much more bitter than the words his whole being wanted to say next.

 _I want you to want me back_. 

But those were the words he barely even admitted to himself. The words he could never say out loud.

She nodded, her mouth setting into a firm line.

She then turned around and started walking towards the door, turning her head over her shoulder every couple of steps like a caged animal teased with the possibility of freedom.

Watching to see if he would stop her.

To see if this was some kind of a trick.

Vision suppressed the need to scoff. As if. _She_ was the one playing cruel tricks, not him. She was the one using all in her power to ensnare him, seduce him for her own benefit, not caring in the slightest how it affected him.

How it made him yearn for that seduction to be real…

He watched as she reached the door, hand stopping midair as she threw him one final look.

She suddenly turned around and without a word started running toward him.

His hand went towards his gun on instinct. Had he read her wrong? How could he have been so stupid to let her lull him into a false sense of security?

She reached him before he had a chance to even take it out of his holster and he closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

He wondered if what she had in mind for him was long and painful or if it would all be over soon.

Did she have a hidden gun? A knife?

Perhaps he would know if he had actually been strong enough to finish patting her down.

His mind suddenly went blank.

No amount of training could have prepared him for this.

He could have wondered until the end of eternity about what she would do to kill him, but his mind never would have reached _that_ conclusion.

Nothing in his whole life could ever have prepared him for the feeling of her lips against his.


	3. Chapter 3

_Shit_. 

_Shit. Shit. Shit_. 

What was she doing? What had she been thinking? 

She hadn’t been, that was the issue. 

She was now stuck with her hands wrapped around _his_ neck, her lips pressed to _his_ lips and _he_ wasn’t responding. 

She slowly pulled away from him and felt her heart break into a million pieces. 

This was a mistake. 

Someone as pure as him could never want someone like her. Tainted. With blood on her hands. 

All of his reactions to her had been just that. Chemical impulses in his brain, natural reactions to the closeness of a female body. _Any_ female body. 

It had had nothing to do with _her_. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that”, she started, stepping away from him. 

She wished her voice didn’t shake that much, she wished the corners of her eyes didn’t burn with unshed tears. She had shown enough vulnerability as it was, she couldn’t afford for him to see her cry. 

He suddenly raised his hand and put it on her cheek, thumb tracing over her bottom lip as he inhaled sharply. 

“Why?”, she heard him ask, in a voice so broken it was tugging on her heartstrings. Or what was left of them anyway. “I... I let you go, you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to pretend anymore”. 

Wanda let her eyes fall closed. 

_I am_ not _like them_. 

The words that would haunt her forever. 

Of course he was nothing like them, he could never be. 

It had never been her intention to make him feel that way. 

But she had. 

She had given into the temptation that he posed and thrown caution to the wind. 

She could still feel a ghost of his hand on her breast, his lips on her neck, his firm body behind her. 

At that moment she had wanted nothing more than his touch. She had forgotten all about running away, her thoughts centred only on him and the sensations he was provoking in her body. 

She had let her body take control and _he_ had paid the price. 

Wanda opened her eyes again and felt herself drown in the depths of his. The expression on his face was almost pained, and his blue eyes looked so filled with turmoil that she just wanted to reach out, make it better somehow. 

She knew they had no future, was well aware that they were on the opposite sides of the law, but it didn’t stop her body, her _heart_ , from longing for him. 

Even if just for a moment, even if tomorrow he’d be back to hunting her down, she wanted to have this with him. Wanted to know what it was like. 

“Is it so difficult to believe that I’m not?”, she asked, voice barely above a whisper, and watched as his eyes widened at the implications. 

She wasn’t pretending. She might have been weeks ago, when he’d first cornered her, but not anymore. Not after he had been occupying her thoughts for so long, not after she had experienced his lips on her skin, not after he had let her go... 

He didn’t remove his palm from her cheek but he let his thumb fall from her lips to her chin, his large hand fully cupping her face. 

He slowly inched closer to her, each second a torture, and tipped her chin upwards. His grip on her wasn’t constricting, she could move away if she wanted to, but she didn’t. Not in the slightest. She wanted this and she relished the feel of his hand on her, guiding her. 

She could feel her heart trying to jump out of her chest at the anticipation, at his closeness, and just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore his lips were finally on hers, just as soft as they had been the first time, except this time they were moving in time with hers, taking as much as giving. 

Wanda wrapped her arms around his neck again, running her hands through his hair and she sighed into the kiss at the softness of it. It was longer than it had been at the Opera, like he hadn’t cut it since then, and she tugged lightly, humming her contentment against his lips. 

He seemed to like it, because she felt his free hand wrap around the small of her back, melding their bodies impossibly closer, while the hand on her cheek moved to run through her own hair. 

She felt him try to deepen the kiss and she gladly let him, moaning at the taste of him. He still wasn’t close enough, no matter how much she pulled at him, no matter how he held her flush to his body. She wanted more, _needed_ more, and each touch, each sound she pulled out of him was driving her mad with desire. 

It was unlike any kiss she had ever had, not that she had had many. Her lifestyle wasn’t really suited for those kinds of indulgences. 

She tried to force the thoughts of her job out of her head, get fully back into the kiss, but it was already too late. 

Wanda pulled away slightly, her body grateful for a chance to catch her breath, and ran her fingers over his forehead to smooth down his frown of confusion. 

“I have to let my team know I’m alright. I don’t want anyone to – _ugh_ – come looking”, she explained, voice rough. She tried to get the image of Steve and Nat barging in to save her, only to find her writhing below him, _very willing_ , out of her head. 

If the hotness of her cheeks was anything to go by, she was quite certain a large blush on her face was evidence enough of her failure. 

“Yes, of course”, he said after clearing his throat, moving just the tiniest bit away. The fact that the distance was needed in order for her to get her phone out of her pocket did not stop a sound of protest from leaving her lips, and she reveled in the smile it brought to his face. 

Wanda checked her phone and winced. 

5 unread messages. 

_Good, let me know when you’re back at your position._

_Wanda?_

_Report._

_Goddamnit_ _, Wanda, report!_

_We’re going in._

Wanda groaned as she read that last message. It was sent only five minutes ago. She should still be able to stop them, but at this point they wouldn’t believe her messages. They needed to hear her voice. 

She picked at her nails nervously as she waited for Nat to pick up. 

“What the fuck, Wanda, we have been worried sick? Where are you?” 

“I’m back at the position, I forgot to turn on the sound on the phone”, she said, wracking her brain for words that wouldn’t be too revealing to _him_ and wouldn’t cause suspicion in Nat. 

She also had to be careful not to use the codewords that would alert her that someone was listening in and that she had to watch what she was saying. 

No _Natasha_.

No _Steven_. 

“Are you now? That’s funny, because _I_ just reached your position and you’re not there”. 

Wanda felt her blood run cold. 

She was at least relieved Nat had picked up on the lack of their safe words, otherwise her reply probably would have been “I see”, right before she hung up the phone and continued planning her rescue. 

Still, she needed to find a way to let Nat know that she was alright, that she _wanted_ to be where she was, without making her think she was coerced into saying it. 

_“Please, Nat. I need this. Just this once”_ , she whispered in Sokovian, knowing that she’d understand. 

She heard her friend sigh before her tone changed and a smirk was clearly audible in her voice. 

“Hmm, I wonder what I’d see if I decided to take a look around with my binoculars”, she teased, and Wanda felt herself flush from head to toe. 

She made a sound she wasn’t sure she could repeat even if she wanted to. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll tell Steve I saw you and that a search and rescue is not needed, but don’t take too long”, Nat conceded before hanging up the phone. 

“Well, agent, I truly _am_ at your mercy now”, she said, trapping her lip between her teeth. She had to fight a smile at the fact that his eyes immediately followed, and his tongue darted out to wet his own lips. “What will you do?” 

“Nothing that you don’t want me to”, he promised, his eyes screaming sincerity, and Wanda smiled. 

Everything. She wanted everything. But most importantly... 

“I want _you_ ”, she said, and it was enough for his eyes to turn darker with lust as he pulled her towards him once more. 

This kiss was even more heated, he was devouring her with all he had, and oh how she wanted to be devoured by him... 

His lips suddenly left hers, but only to return to her neck again, making goosebumps spread all over her. She moaned in his ear and his hips responded, grinding into her and pressing _right there_. 

She was dizzy with pleasure, they were barely doing anything but it was almost too much. Almost too intense... 

She felt him lick, and suck and _nip_ on that sensitive spot and she couldn’t keep her sounds contained. He was definitely going to leave a mark and she would definitely have some explaining to do, but she couldn’t care less. All that mattered was how it felt. How _he_ felt.

And how he felt was extraordinary. 

His hands started moving lower down her body and she let out a strangled cry as they reached her ass and squeezed, pushing her core against the part of him she so desperately needed inside her. 

“Please”, she whined, and he groaned in response, picking her up like she weighed nothing and carrying her towards his bedroom. 

He gently lowered her on the bed but remained standing, his hooded eyes drinking her in. 

The intensity of his gaze made her squirm for a bit, before she let her eyes travel lower, down the suit that was hiding what she already knew was a perfect body. 

It was a plain grey suit, not as fancy as the one he had worn _that_ day, but it still looked mouthwateringly good on him. 

It would look even better on his floor. 

“You’re wearing too much clothing”, she teased, giving him a very obvious once-over. He smirked in response, shrugging out of his suit jacket as his fingers went to the buttons of his shirt. 

There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he uncovered inch by glorious inch of his body to her hungry gaze. 

“I believe this is a sight you are quite familiar with by now, Miss Maximoff”, he said once his shirt joined the jacket on the floor, and Wanda felt her heart drop to her heels. 

He _knew_! How long had he known!? 

She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, but still muttered a “I have no idea what you’re referring to” as she averted her gaze. 

The bed dipped under his weight and Wanda soon felt his hand on her chin, gently turning her head so she would face him again. 

There was no judgement in his eyes, only desire and hunger. Hunger for _her_. 

He had known she was watching him and instead of hiding away in his room he had _wanted_ her to see. 

“In any case, I believe I am at a disadvantage here”, he whispered, a breath away from her lips, before kissing her again, not giving her a chance to change that disadvantage. 

She let her hands run across his bare back as they kissed, the feel of his toned muscles under her fingers fuelling her desire tenfold. She lightly scratched him, just as she did in her fantasies, but those fantasies couldn’t even begin to compare to reality, to the hitch in his breath and the sudden thrust of his hips against hers. 

Wanda was breathing heavily once he pulled away for air but her hands still flew towards her jacket. She needed to feel his skin on hers, no barriers in between them. If the way his gaze hungrily followed her fingers was anything to go by, he most certainly agreed with the sentiment. 

After a few more seconds of devouring her with his eyes, he got up and set to work removing his own remaining clothing. Wanda used most of her willpower to resist the urge to just watch him. She was still way too covered and she was going to change that. 

Jacket. Shirt. Shoes. Jeans. 

At that moment they were nothing but obstacles, nothing but a pesky annoyance that needed to end up on the floor next to his suit. 

She let out a sigh of relief once she was left in nothing but her bra and panties, she could finally breathe again, but it seemed like her agent had other plans for her. 

Wait, when did he become _hers_?

He walked to the edge of the bed and caught her ankles in his hands, before slowly sliding his fingers upwards, gliding over each newly exposed inch of her skin. It made her breathing grow laboured and she wondered if she would ever truly be able to breathe again. 

She jerked underneath him, trying to get him closer, trying to do anything to alleviate her ache for him, but his grasp on her legs was firm. He was holding her right where he wanted her as he torturously slowly moved towards her core, his fingers leaving a blazing trail in their wake. 

How could he possibly be that good? 

How could she let him have so much control over her? 

How could she _want_ to? 

She had no answers as to why, but her desire was undeniable. She wanted him to take control of her pleasure. Wanted him to make her fall apart without letting her hold back. 

So she relaxed. And shivered at his touch. And bit her lip to suppress the sounds his actions were evoking. 

“Now, now, Miss Maximoff, I won’t have any of that”, he murmured against her thigh as he brought his lips close to her skin but not touching. Giving her nothing more than a tickle of his breath, a whisper, a tease. “I want to hear you”, he growled. 

His words broke a dam inside of her and she cried out as he suddenly pulled her panties down her legs and buried his face in their place. 

She couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe, all that mattered was the man between her thighs and the things he was making her feel. 

Her hands were in his hair, both pulling at him and pushing him closer. Her body trashed under his ministrations until his hands pushed down on her hips to hold her in place. She groaned and removed one hand from his hair to tangle it in his sheets. 

A small part of her still wanted to deny the fact that his taking of control once again managed to make her even more aroused. 

The larger part of her simply didn’t care. 

She felt her vision go blank as her mouth opened in a voiceless scream. 

That man was going to be the death of her. 


	4. Chapter 4

She was so _responsive_. 

Each touch of his fingers, his lips, seemed to draw out some sort of a reaction from her. 

A sigh... 

A moan... 

The arching of her back... 

The tugging of his hair... 

And yet no reaction could rival the way she shook beneath his hands as his mouth sent her over the edge. 

Bringing her pleasure was a heady feeling and he felt drunk on it. At the same time, he couldn’t get enough. 

He needed more. More moans. More whimpers. More cries of pleasure. 

He felt like a man parched, consumed by a thirst that only she could quench. 

He wanted the moment to last forever. 

So he licked and sucked and _teased_ her until she pulled the hair on the back of his head and glared at him. He chuckled against her, drawing out a shaky moan, but removed one hand from her hip at her unspoken plea and plunged two fingers inside of her. 

She wailed, tightening her grip on his hair, and he inhaled sharply at the feel of her around his fingers. She was squeezing him for dear life and he was overwhelmed by the need to be inside her. Truly inside her. 

His other hand wandered upwards towards her breasts, sneaking under the material of her bra, the only remaining barrier between them, but he couldn’t let go of her long enough to remove it. She was so soft underneath his palm, shuddering as he ran his wandering fingers over her hardened nipple, gently at first, before lightly twisting it. 

She cried out, bucking her hips against his face, and Vision knew she was close. 

He sped up his pace. Regardless of his needs he wouldn’t have her until she fell apart for him again. And fell apart she did, with a hoarse cry, but this time he let her catch her breath. 

Her fingers in his hair went from tugging to caressing as she relaxed and gazed at him with hooded eyes and a sated smile on her face. 

“My turn now”, she stated with a grin, moving to get up, and Vision was bombarded with images of her hot mouth around him, taking him all the way in as those green eyes of hers stared up at his own. 

The intensity of the desire that rushed through him at the thought made him close his eyes and clench his hands in the sheets around her thighs as he slowly swallowed. Oh, how he wanted to take her up on that offer, but he needed to stop her. 

He had learned enough Sokovian since he got assigned this case to understand those three words. 

_Just this once_. 

He had one chance with her before it all went back to the way it had been before. One chance, and he needed to make it last. But he couldn’t, not with her soft lips wrapped around him... 

“Please”, he whispered as his hand shot out to her waist to stop her, “I need to be inside you”. 

He watched her bite her lip at his words before she nodded, laying back down on the bed. 

Vision slowly got up and walked towards his nightstand, reaching inside the drawer for a condom. He never thought he’d be grateful for Tony's weird sense of humor, who somehow thought that an extra large pack of condoms was an appropriate birthday present for someone who didn’t even have time for dating. While he had rolled his eyes at the time, he now smiled. 

“Is there something I should know about?”, her voice forced his thoughts away from Tony and Vision was confused for a moment before he turned his head towards her and followed her gaze towards the package in his hands. 

“Uh, no, I’m clean”, he stated and watched as she bit her lip before she looked him in the eyes and nodded. 

“Good. Then I want to feel you. Just you”, she stated, voice serious, and he had to close his eyes at the thought of being inside her without any barriers between them. 

He let the foil fall to the floor and opened his eyes, turning towards her. 

She was completely naked on his bed – _when had she removed her bra_? – laying on her side and watching him. 

The position of her eyes made it clear that she had been staring at his ass, but instead of shying away when faced with his smirk and a raised eyebrow, she smirked right back and winked. 

_Winked_. 

He let out a sound that sounded very much like a growl before he was back on the bed in an instant, kissing her with all he had. 

Her fingertips were fire as they moved over his back and neck, setting his nerve endings ablaze, and once one of her hands wandered downwards to squeeze his ass he couldn’t take it anymore. 

He groaned, his body positioning against her entrance without any conscious decision on his part, but he needed to stop, needed to make sure. 

“Are you certain?”, he asked, voice strained from the effort it took to hold back, and she smiled at him, the hand on his ass pushing him forwards until he slipped inside. 

They both gasped as he entered her, her heat enveloping him, and he could hear her curse in what he supposed was Sokovian. His knowledge didn’t stretch to curse words, but whatever it was she had said somehow made his cock throb even harder. 

He wanted to give her some time to adjust to his size, holding himself still with a monumental effort, but she seemed to have other plans. 

She wrapped her legs around his waist as her hips raised from the bed, teasing him with circular motions. 

“Fuck me, agent”, she whispered, voice thick with desire, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. 

He began moving in earnest, each of her moans spurning him on, and she met him thrust for thrust. 

She felt perfect, sounded perfect, _was_ perfect, and how he would spend the rest of his life without her wrapped around him now that he’d had a taste was beyond him. 

His mouth connected with her nipple, twirling his tongue around it before sucking on it, making her cry out in pleasure and close her eyes. 

“Eyes on me, Miss Maximoff”, he commanded, loving the way she obeyed immediately. He had noticed that each time he took control she moaned a little louder, pulsed around him a little harder, squeezed him a little tighter and he was more than happy to comply with her desires. 

The mere fact that she’d want him in control was exhilarating. 

He was slowly getting lost in her, in her hooded gaze, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. 

He needed her to come. 

Vision watched as she slowly stretched her arms above her head, crossing them and entwining her fingers together. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t have to, because he knew what she wanted. 

One of his hands shot up to wrap around her wrists, pinning her hands to the bed, and she shook beneath him in a sudden orgasm, the intensity of it dragging him right along with her. 

Vision rolled to the side as soon as he caught his breath, instinctively pulling her closer to wrap his arms around her. 

He wished he didn’t have to let her go, he wished his mission didn’t have to be capturing _her_ , but it _was_ and he couldn’t stop a sigh from leaving his lips once she gave him a sad smile and a peck on his cheek that somehow felt more intimate than anything else they’d done. 

“I have to go to the bathroom”, she said softly and he nodded. She knew where it was. 

While she was gone he thought about the decisions that laid ahead. He had a deadline approaching, both Ross and Pierce had been quite clear about that, before the case would be transferred to another agent. 

He didn't know _when_ it would happen, but they kept toying with the possibility whenever they were in contact with him.

Whoever they chose, Vision was confident the new agent wouldn’t be half as good as him, wouldn’t be able to get as close to them and their plans as he did. 

He knew he technically _could_ give his superiors what they wanted right away. He _could_ bring S.H.I.E.L.D. to them, hell, he even had one “Avenger” in his apartment, but it simply wouldn’t be _right_ , even if they hadn’t done what they’d done. He was fairly certain that the “Avengers” would be either killed or imprisoned without a trial and he wanted no part in that. 

Instead of resentment because he would probably be demoted for wanting to do his job right, Vision was surprised to find that he felt relief. Relief that it wouldn’t be _him_ having to hunt her down anymore. That _she_ would be safer if someone less capable was trying to catch her. 

He was forced to admit that bringing her to justice held less and less appeal. 

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. 

How could one woman affect him this much? How could she make him question his sense of duty, his entire life's purpose? 

Vision had no answer to that. 

She entered the room and he watched from the bed as she put her clothes back on, with much less speed than when she took them off, before he, too, got up to put on a pair of sweatpants. 

He walked with her out of the bedroom and towards the door, unsure of what to say, of how to break the silence that stretched between them, when she stopped and turned towards him. 

She put a hand on his arm, so tiny compared to his own, and his body unwillingly leaned into her touch. 

He inwardly cursed his own weakness, but he couldn’t deny the way those eyes made him feel. The way the sadness in them made him want to protect her from the world, even though she certainly didn’t need protecting. 

“I... I didn’t do this to gain some kind of a leverage”, she said, her eyes still not leaving his. “I did it because I wanted to. I just... I want you to know that”. 

He nodded, covering the hand on his arm with his own. 

“I believe you”, he said gently, his whole body screaming at him to kiss her, but he resisted. 

_Just this once_. 

“Right”, she added, clearing her throat after a moment of silence, and removed her hand from his grasp. 

“I guess I’ll see you around. Even though I suppose that would mean I’m doing something wrong”, she teased, making him laugh despite his best efforts. 

“Here’s to hoping you’ll slip up”, he replied with a wink, causing what seemed like a real smile to spread over her face, the kind that reached her eyes. It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. 

She turned then, stepping out the door and he stayed there, watching, until she disappeared down the hallway. 

Just before getting out of his sight she turned, throwing one last look over her shoulder, and Vision couldn’t stop a smile from spreading on his face. 

He sat on the couch for a couple of minutes, needing to rest a bit, before deciding to investigate the reason she had been in his apartment. 

Sure enough, he found the bugs. Extremely well hidden, he had to give her that. So well that he certainly wouldn’t have noticed them if he hadn’t seen her there, but as it was, he knew what to look for. 

He thought about her listening to every sound he made and smiled. 

He might just leave them there. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some of the angst from the tags will be in this chapter. Just a quick warning.
> 
> I hope you still enjoy :)

“Why didn’t you stop me”, Wanda muttered into her pillow after another night spent tossing and turning in her bed. 

It had been six days since that morning, six days since _him_ , and sleep still didn’t come easily to her. Sure, it was better than the nightmares she often had, but it was still too damn irritating. 

All her brain wanted to do when she closed her eyes was replay their last encounter, the way he had looked, sounded, _felt_... 

Wanda groaned and punched her pillow, earning a chuckle from Nat. 

“Do I need to remind you that you were practically _begging_ me not to stop you?”, she asked, raising her eyebrow at her as she sat up in the bed. 

Her expression suddenly turned serious. “Unless...”, she started, a wary look in her eyes, “Wanda, did he hurt you?” 

“What? No, of course not. And if he had, you know he’d either be dead or on top of our list”, she replied, turning on her back. 

“Good. You’ve just been really grumpy ever since you came back, I figured he had to have been either _really_ good, or extremely bad. I take it he’s the former”, Nat said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, and Wanda hurled a pillow at her across the room. 

She evaded it with ease, rolling her eyes at her, but Wanda still felt her mood lighten. 

“I’ll take that as a yes”, Nat laughed, and Wanda just muttered a “shut up” before joining in her laughter. 

“What do I do, Nat, I can’t get him off my mind”, she asked after a while. 

“Focus on the mission. On finding out whether he suspects something. I don’t have to remind you that it’s in two days and that this time it needs to go without any interruptions”. 

Wanda nodded. They were finally planning to attempt another mission, the first one after their two failed ones. 

It would be different though, not flashy like their usual missions. They usually wanted to make an impression. Their targets _knew_ they were targets, either because they were disgusting filth, or because they were disgusting filth that worked for _them_. Either way, they _wanted_ them afraid. Wanted them to cower in fear whenever another one of their missions made the news. To wonder whether they would be next.

But not this time. This time they wanted a quick in and out. No news. No message. A simple disappearance, the body never to be found again. 

Nothing that could be connected to them. 

So far, it didn’t seem like _he_ had any idea of their new plans. Laying low and letting Steve and Nat plan the mission out seemed to be working. 

She got up from the bed and went to her laptop, quickly checking if there were any new voice recordings, document changes or e-mail correspondence during the night, before taking her phone and plucking her earphones in. 

He didn’t seem to have a lot of phone calls, at least not initiated by him, which was quite unusual since he had often been on his phone while she was observing him. 

Still, she constantly had one earphone in her ear as she worked on other things. She had managed to convince Steve and Nat it was because she didn’t want to miss anything important, but she had to admit to herself that the true reason was a bit different. 

If she wanted to, she could set the monitoring program to alert her of any changes in volume on his end, but she found the sound of his breathing relaxing. 

If only she hadn’t thought he wouldn’t be conducting any sort of agent business in his bedroom, perhaps hearing him breathe would even be able to lull her to sleep. 

Wanda sighed, forcing her attention back to her laptop. She was soon startled by his voice in her ear. 

“ _Released?!_ ”, she heard him gasp, and the shock in his voice intrigued her. She pulled up a live feed of his screen and saw he was looking at the file of one Daniel Whitehall, the target they were supposed to eliminate in Vienna. 

Wanda scoffed. Whitehall was one of _them_. Of course he would be released. What had he been expecting? 

“ _Insufficient evidence, my ass_ ”, he muttered, and Wanda giggled at the screen. Her agent had a dirty mouth at times. 

Oh god. There it was again. 

_Her agent_.

She shook her head at herself and did her best to focus. 

“ _All charges dropped_ ”, he sighed, closing the document, and the disappointment in his voice was very real. He _truly_ had no idea. He wasn’t with _them_ , all he wanted was to bring justice in his own, inefficient little way. 

She was already aware of that, otherwise _that morning_ never would have happened, but she still smiled at the reassurance. 

She then wondered how disappointed he’d be in her when they finally finished the mission that he had interrupted. Regardless. Whitehall's destiny might have been postponed, but it was awaiting him none the less. 

Wanda continued making preparations for their upcoming mission for a few more hours before her stomach growled. 

She went to the kitchen debating between getting a quick bite to eat and actually bothering to cook something. She was sure her teammates would also appreciate something warm, they couldn’t risk ordering delivery to a safehouse, so she set out to make some pasta with a cheese, mushroom and cream sauce.

She put the water to boil and put all the ingredients she would need on the counter. 

Wanda liked cooking. It relaxed her.

That’s when she heard it. That soft groan that had been plaguing her thoughts. 

It was so clear. _Exactly_ how she remembered it. _Exactly_ how he had sounded when she did something he really liked. 

Her hands gripped the counter as she tried to clear her thoughts. Allowing her thoughts to dwell on him before bed was one thing, but full on imagining his groans of pleasure during the day? While cooking? 

This was getting out of hand. 

It took a second groan and a sigh for her to realize that the sounds were coming from her earphone, and, subsequently, from _him_. 

They were real, not a product of her imagination. 

Not wishful thinking. 

Wanda fought to keep her own groan from making its way out of her throat. She thought of Steve and Nat in the room next to her, and how she needed to keep quiet, and how listening in on him was so damn inappropriate, but the thought of taking her earphone out was dismissed as soon as it appeared. 

How could she? After everything they’d done together? 

She put the other earphone in instead, closing her eyes as her hand went back to gripping the counter. That was all she would allow herself to do. 

It was certainly the safest place for her hands. 

The sounds that followed left no doubt as to their nature. Soft moans, groans, shaky intakes of breath. 

Oh, yes, those were definitely sounds of pleasure. 

She listened intently for any indication of a second person in the room with him. 

She could find none. 

Wanda sighed in relief. She knew she had no claim to him, no right, but that didn’t stop her jealousy from spiking at the thought of someone else drawing those sounds out of him. 

She imagined him on his couch, alone, eyes closed as his hand dipped under the hem of his pants. 

The sounds he made in her ear were the perfect background noise, guiding her thoughts as she imagined him squeezing his erection, teasing himself before finally taking it out with a sound of relief. 

He was either in his living room or his kitchen, since his bedroom and bathroom weren’t bugged. 

She thought back to his teasing in the bedroom. He had known she was watching him. Did he think that she still was? 

Was he sitting on his couch, blinds open, cock in hand as he thought about her watching from across the street? 

Wanda removed one hand from the counter to cover her mouth. She felt a thousand whimpers threatening to spill out at the thought. 

Oh, how she wished she was back in her room now. She wanted to join him, touch herself as she listened to the sounds of him chasing his pleasure, but her body was frozen in place. 

She couldn’t move, couldn’t risk being distracted by something as stupid as walking once he reached completion, so she stayed there, one hand digging into the counter almost painfully, while her teeth gently bit the palm of the other. 

She needed to be silent. She knew that someone as perceptive as Nat would know _exactly_ what was going on if she walked in. Steve wouldn’t, which was the only reason she didn’t just throw caution to the wind and slip her hand inside her shorts. This way she could at least save face with one of them. 

Despite the fact that she resisted touching herself, she felt each moan in her ear send new shots of arousal to her core. She squeezed her thighs together as the sounds, and the images her mind conjured because of them, bombarded her. 

Damn him and damn her inability for self-control when it came to him. Why couldn’t she just take her earphones out? 

His breathing sped up and she knew he was getting closer. When she closed her eyes she could almost see him all flushed, a bead of sweat running down his face as those heated eyes stared at her with abandon. 

She fought the need to moan, oh, how she needed to let it all out, but she bit her palm harder instead. 

No, she would wait it out. 

She _would_. 

“ _Oh god, Miss Maximoff_ ”, he basically whimpered in her ear, before she heard him fall apart with a long groan. 

She cried out around her hand, unable to control it, as her other pressed against her clit through her shorts. 

The tiny pressure, combined with the sound of her name from his lips, was enough for her to follow, her own orgasm blinding her. 

“Wanda, is everything alright?”, she heard Steve’s worried voice from the other room as he got up to check on her. 

“Yeah, I just accidentally touched the pot, I’ll be fine”, she quickly replied, voice shaky as she turned the water on and stuck her hand under the stream to make her lie more believable. 

Steve laughed as he entered the kitchen, looking at her like Pietro used to when she did something silly. 

“Just be careful, alright? What would we do without you?”, he asked with a smile, coming towards her. 

Well, thanks to the man who had just unknowingly made her come in the middle of the kitchen, with her teammates in the living room, they’d do just fine without her. She felt quite useless now that she had to step down from planning. 

“Don’t even think about it”, he said firmly as he saw the expression on her face. “You are an invaluable member of this team, no matter the current circumstances. Speaking of that, what are you cooking?” 

He came closer and Wanda was glad she had at least put the water for the pasta to boil before she was, khm, distracted. 

“Pasta, but I’m afraid I’m a bit behind schedule, the water is already boiling. Wanna help me with the sauce?”, she asked with a smile, putting the pasta in the pot.

“Of course, what do you need me to do?”, he replied, stepping even closer to her.

She quickly explained how she needed the cheese cut before putting the mushrooms in another pot to sauté.

After a while she quickly glanced back at him. He was still completely focused on cutting up the cheese.

His muscular frame looked even bigger in their tiny kitchen and her heart swelled at the sight.

She had lost everything, _everyone_ , but he and Nat had managed to worm themselves into what little remained of her heart.

Whatever happened in the future, no matter how returning from their little hiatus went, she couldn’t lose them too.

She’d do anything to protect them.

***

Wanda felt the telltale excitement before a mission as soon as she woke up.

The pre-mission preparations were a piece of cake, she had waited for almost two months, she was more than ready.

Nat quizzed her on her mission persona in case they were stopped by regular patrols and she fully immersed herself in the role of an American tourist travelling across Europe.

“Your fake accents are getting good”, Nat said proudly once she was done with her questions. She _should_ be proud. It was her merit after all.

“But I still prefer _yours_ whenever we don’t have to pretend”, she added as she finished applying the red dye to Wanda’s hair.

Wanda never heard Nat’s native Russian accent come out, but she hoped that wouldn’t happen to her. She liked her accent, and never tried to suppress it when she was comfortable.

With Nat.

With Steve.

And, for some reason, with _him_.

She quickly chased thoughts of _him_ out of her mind. Her head needed to be on the mission and the mission only.

She switched places with Nat on the chair and cut large chunks of her long, wavy hair, before starting to bleach what was left of it. It was a shame. Wanda always preferred red on her, but it needed to be done.

Around 4 PM they triple checked all their documents and equipment, no conventional weapons, of course, before setting out.

They preferred travelling by car whenever it was an option. The airports were too risky. Too many cameras. Too much security. Too many questions.

Of course, they still had to go through passport control checks when crossing some borders, but each of them possessed more fake documents and identities than they could count.

The passport control was a breeze, as usual. Wanda smirked as Steve parked the car on the train. She almost wished for a challenge from time to time.

They reached France without an issue and drove for around thirty minutes before changing cars. Their replacement vehicle was already waiting for them, courtesy of Sam, their car guy, and Wanda settled comfortably in the back seat, preparing herself for the long ride towards their target’s mansion.

She was mentally running through the plan for what must have been a hundredth time as they drove, a part of her mind on continuous alert for any indication that _he_ suspected something.

That’s when she heard it again.

Wanda felt her eyes widen in mortification.

Oh, no…

Not here…

Not stuck in the car with the two of them…

Not with Nat in the back seat with her…

She was once again frozen in place. Surely no one would notice if she took out her earphone, right?

But what if they did? She constantly had one in, what if Nat asked something?

How could she even _hope_ to speak in a way that made sense when all her mind could focus on was just one more gasp, just one more groan?

No, taking it out was too risky, so she closed her eyes, doing her best to control her breathing.

Her mind was flooded with images of him above her, pinning her hands, groaning in her ear before moving his lips down her neck…

Her eyes snapped open, and she immediately regretted closing them in the first place.

She was sure that the tension she felt was palpable, that the two people she was sharing the car with were very aware of her predicament, but it didn’t help prepare her for Nat lunging towards her and grabbing the other earphone the next time Steve braked.

She let out an involuntary yelp, but Nat just chuckled.

“You should really take it easy on the brake”, she teased at Steve’s worried glance through the rearview mirror.

He laughed and apologized, apparently taking no notice of the earphone in Nat’s ear.

Wanda was too mortified to feel relief at that revelation. All she could think about was the fact that Nat was also hearing the unmistakable sounds of a man giving himself pleasure.

Nat let the earphone drop from her ear before turning to Wanda and bringing their heads together.

“See, I _knew_ that wasn’t a cry of pain”, she whispered before planting the other earphone in Wanda’s ear and moving away with a wink. She threw her one final, smug look and turned to gaze out of the window.

Wanda slid further down her seat and covered her face with her palms.

Now if only the ground would swallow her.

***

The mission went down smoothly, as did the one in Belgium, and the one in Sweden after that. They spent two weeks in their Belgian safehouse, which was thankfully bigger and meant Wanda finally had her own room.

She made ample use of the newfound privacy.

It became a sort of a pleasant routine.

It didn’t happen every day, no, but Wanda found herself looking forward to when it did. To when she heard the first telltale signs of him succumbing to temptation.

The sound of her name slipping from his lips plagued her. Called for her…

She felt grateful for the miles that laid between them, lest she found herself breaking into his apartment again and straddling him before the shocked expression even had the chance to disappear from his face.

Still, the separation was short lived, gone too quickly, as Nat soon heard whispers of one of their American targets coming to London for a meeting. Wanda’s probing confirmed it, and they soon found themselves once again _en route_ to their England hideout.

She felt pleased.

_He_ had not made the connection between the Avengers and the three recent disappearances. Their changed approach seemed to be working.

She suddenly heard his phone ringing and motioned for Nat to turn the volume on their entertainment system down.

It was _Pierce_. Wanda felt bile rise in her throat and she ripped the earphones out of her phone and turned the volume up to max.

She noticed Nat’s hands tighten on the wheel and Steve’s fist grip the hand rest so hard it _bent_ when they heard his voice.

“ _Vision! Are you making any progress with the ‘Avengers’?_ ”

He did not have his phone on speaker but Pierce spoke so loud his words were easily discernible. As was the venom in his voice when he mentioned them.

“ _Not yet, sir. It appears that they have withdrawn after we intercepted them in Vienna. There have been no new cases since then. I believe they are still too hesitant to make a move_ ”, he replied calmly.

“ _Wrong!_ ”, Pierce shouted through the phone, “ _There have been three new cases! Scarlotti in France, Beckers in Belgium, Malick in Sweden. They all disappeared in the past two weeks!”_.

“ _With all due respect, sir, disappearances are not really their style. What makes you think the ‘Avengers’ are behind it?_ ”, they heard him ask.

“ _All three of them were rich and influential men. Just their type. It’s them and it’s the end of discussion_ ”, Pierce claimed and Wanda scoffed at his explanation. _Right_. Like _that_ was the reason he knew.

“ _Fly out there and find out if there’s any way they’re still alive. I gave you this case because you were S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most competent agent. Act like it!_ ”, he shouted before disconnecting the call.

Vision sighed and they heard him type on his laptop before Wanda plugged the earphones back in.

“How long before we finally go after _him_?”, Steve asked, hands still clenched in tight fists.

“You know he’s still way too protected. We need to wait for the perfect opportunity. With him, there can be _no_ mistakes. No second chances”, Nat reminded and Steve sighed. As did Wanda.

Nat was right. Pierce was still too dangerous, no matter how much each of them hated him. They shouldn’t rush it.

“So much for keeping the element of surprise”, Wanda muttered as she thought about the fact that her agent now knew about their new MO.

“We’re getting Quinn and then we’re back to the drawing board”, Nat sighed and Wanda let her head fall against the headrest again.

She would once again be stuck inside a safehouse.

***

Wanda woke up in tears.

That cold voice.

That cruel laughter.

That limp body in her arms.

She tried to shake off the remains of her nightmare from her waking mind, pack them back into the box in which she kept them, but she couldn’t.

Of course she couldn’t.

It was her birthday.

Exactly 5 years since she became an Avenger.

The one day when she allowed herself to feel the full extent of her pain. The one day when the carefully constructed barriers between her mind and her emotions, between the present and the past, couldn’t hold. The one day when she was defenseless against the horrors.

She had to learn to control it, had to learn to forget to survive, she even learned how to be happy again, take pleasure in being with her teammates, crossing off her targets, even in thinking about her agent, but each birthday was the same.

Each birthday she relived that same moment over and over again, until there were no more tears left to cry, no more voice left to scream.

She didn’t have to look around the house to know that she was alone. Steve and Nat had tried to help the first time, but she had begged them for privacy and they had respected her wish, on that birthday and all birthdays since.

She had no idea how long she had been curled up on her bed when she heard the familiar ping. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. She couldn’t really care less.

She debated not even getting up to check what it was, but despite her grief she knew it could be important. A phone call that would give them a new piece of information, a warning, anything.

She forced herself to her feet and felt like a zombie as she walked towards her phone.

“ _Miss Maximoff_ ”, she heard and she almost shut it down, she couldn’t deal with _that_ right now, but there was something different about his voice. It sounded soft, insecure, and Wanda waited to hear why he was mentioning her name.

“ _I… I know you’ve been listening. At least I_ hope _you were the one listening, otherwise the past few weeks have been quite awkward for one of your teammates_ ”, she heard him say with a chuckle.

Her mind cleared instantly.

_Shit._

They have been discovered.

How long had he known?

Her train of thoughts was interrupted as he continued talking to her.

“ _I don’t know how to contact you otherwise, but I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday_ ”, he said and she let out a sob. By the smile in his voice she realized he had _no idea_ about what her birthday represented.

Of course he didn’t know, she thought bitterly. Anything that might make her appear more like a human being and less like a murderous machine was surely removed from her file.

“ _Anyway, if my superior is correct and your team is also responsible for the recent disappearances, then judging by the recent disappearance of one Ian Quinn, an American billionaire who was last seen during his visit to England, you’re back in London_ ”, he continued.

Wanda wondered where he was going with this. Why would he reveal that he knew he was being monitored? Just to wish her a happy birthday? And even if that was the reason, why would he tell her his knowledge of their movements?

“ _Well, uh, what… What I’m trying to say is_ ”, he proceeded, as if anticipating her questions, and despite her mood Wanda felt a small smile tug at her lips at his adorable nervousness, “ _is that I will be ordering takeout for two tonight. Whether it will all get eaten tonight or if I will be eating leftovers for lunch tomorrow will depend entirely on you. Regardless of your decision, I hope you have a wonderful day_ ”.

There was a sharp intake of breath before she heard what sounded like running and the bedroom door opening and closing and then there was silence. He was out of range.

Wanda kept staring at her phone for what felt like eternity.

Did he really just ask her out on a date?

And more importantly, what was she going to do?

She sat down on the floor and weighed her options.

She could stay here and cry herself to sleep over things she could never change, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how many bad guys she killed in revenge…

Or she could go to him, release all the sexual tension that had built up and fuck the pain away. Make herself forget what she couldn’t change.

She straightened her back in fierce determination before getting off the floor and going towards the bathroom.

***

She was going to wait, she really was.

She wasn’t going to show him how desperate she was for him and his touch. For any sort of a distraction.

They would sit down and eat, maybe talk, and _only then_ would she let him kiss her, let herself feel his hands on her again.

And yet the moment his apartment door closed behind them she attacked his lips with hers.

No “hello”. No “how are you”. No “it’s good to see you again”.

Just pure, raw need.

“Mphmh getting cold”, he muttered against her lips but she growled and tugged his bottom lip between her teeth.

“Don’t care”.

His gasp gave her the perfect opportunity to explore his mouth again, and oh, how she had missed this. She was on fire, each molecule inside her was burning, and she just needed more.

More pleasure.

And more _pain_.

She couldn’t handle gentle today.

Wanda could feel through their kiss that he was still a little confused about her intensity, but she also felt him start to get consumed by her fire.

He pushed her against the door, grinding his hard erection against her core and she hissed, letting her head fall back.

His lips followed a path down her jaw to her neck and Wanda’s hands shot out to tangle in his hair, holding his head against her neck until his gentle kisses turned into love bites.

She managed to wriggle out of his grasp and turn them around, so that _he_ was now pressed against the door.

“Is this what you thought about?”, she asked as she sunk to her knees in front of him.

She heard his breath catch as she pulled down the zipper of his pants and freed his erection shortly after.

“When you teased me?”, she whispered against the base of his cock.

“When you made me listen to you with my teammates in the same room, in the same _car_?”

She threw him a heated gaze before taking him in her mouth. He let out a strangled groan and she reveled in it. She swallowed him as deep as he could go, fighting her gag reflex.

Still, she pulled away after just one stroke, smirking at his whine of protest.

Served him right after weeks of teasing.

“Show me”, she rasped, and he let one hand wrap around the base of his cock with a silent gasp, his heated gaze never braking contact with hers.

He stared at her as his hand started moving, eyes drinking in her fully clothed body, and she slowly unbuttoned the top three buttons of her shirt, giving him a full view of her lace-covered breasts.

He groaned, leaning his head against the door, but his eyes stayed open, fixed bellow him.

His groans were intoxicating and she couldn’t get enough of them. She wanted _more_.

She raised her hands to play with her nipples though the lace and he growled, releasing his erection and sinking to his knees in order to wrap his lips around one while his fingers played with the other.

She keened at the feeling, begging him with the pressure of her fingers against his head to suck a little harder, squeeze a little tighter.

She wanted to get lost in the pleasure, but, at least for today, she also needed to feel that bite of pain. That way she could force her mind to focus on the physical pain instead of the one that ran much deeper.

“Bed”, he said once he unlatched his mouth to switch to her other breast but she would have none of it.

She needed him _right now_ so she pushed him backwards. If she were any less worked up she would have giggled at his “umph” of surprise when he landed on his back but, as it was, all she could do was bunch up her skirt and push her panties to the side before sinking down on him.

She rode him like her life depended on it and the feeling of him inside her, below her, drove her mad with desire, but it wasn’t enough.

“Harder”, she begged and he grabbed her hips, holding her in place as he angled his own and started moving in earnest.

She braced her hands on his still clothed chest and cried out as his gravelly voice whispered about how good she felt. How tight she was. How perfect she sounded.

“Yes, I thought about this. This and so much more”, he rasped out, his hips never faltering in their rhythm.

Wanda felt her breath hitch. She was _so close_. His voice, combined with that delicious stretch, was doing wonders to her body and she just needed that little bit more.

“But what I thought about the most was you falling apart on my cock. Come for me, Miss Maximoff”, he commanded.

It was finally enough.

She was barely aware of herself screaming as he brought her to an explosive orgasm. She collapsed on top of him and could feel him give a few more powerful thrusts before stilling completely and grunting in her ear.

She closed her eyes and relaxed against him. She couldn’t find it in her muscles to move.

His hand came up to tuck her hair behind her ear and it stayed there, caressing her head while she caught her breath.

After a while she remembered how uncomfortable he must be lying on the hard floor. Having to support her full weight certainly didn’t help the matter.

She suddenly felt sheepish.

“I’m sorry, that was…” she started to apologize before stopping midsentence to think about how she felt. She felt sated, certainly better than on any recent birthday. “Thank you. I needed that”.

“It was my pleasure, Miss Maximoff. I suppose there is a certain advantage to the fact that neither of us has bothered to remove our clothes”.

“Oh?”, she asked, intrigued, and when he answered there was a twinkle in his eyes.

“We are both perfectly presentable for dinner”, he responded with a smirk, and for the first time in five years, Wanda Maximoff laughed on her birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, May the 4th be with you :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that the tags were warning you about. Please proceed with caution.

Something was wrong, Vision was sure of it.

It was obvious in the desperate way she had taken him. In her subtle begging for harder. _Rougher_.

It wasn’t the same sort of desperation that he had, the kind that was there because she was finally back in his arms after weeks of thinking of her, dreaming of her. Weeks spent convincing himself that he could never have her again.

Oh, she had wanted him too, there was no doubt about it, but there was something more to it.

Something darker.

And yet, he did not wish to pry.

It was enough that she came, that she didn’t leave him hanging and that she didn’t think it was some sort of a trap.

That she chose to spend her birthday with _him_.

He led her towards the kitchen table after they had both cleaned up, pulling out a chair for her.

She flashed him a tiny smile as she sat down and he lit the two candles that were adorning the table.

“I must apologize, Miss Maximoff. You will have to wait until I heat up our dinner”, he stated, moving towards the stove and she blushed, probably thinking of the reason such actions were needed.

He smiled.

He would heat food up a thousand times more if it meant he’d get to be with her again.

It didn’t take too long for the food to be ready and he joined her at the table, serving her a generous helping before doing the same for himself and sitting down.

It was the first time they actually got to talk and he was careful to steer the topic away from the “Avengers”. He didn’t want her to think he had any ulterior motive for the dinner.

All he had wanted was to see her again.

Feel her skin under his fingers, drown in her kisses, her touch…

If he were alone he would chuckle incredulously at himself. He had been inside her less than 20 minutes ago and he already wanted more.

She was very quiet, observing, and it was clear that she had a lot on her mind. Her answers were short, concise, but she seemed content to listen, so he talked.

About his childhood, the Academy, the few friends he had.

He relished each smile she gifted him and made it his goal for the evening to make her smile as many times as he could.

When had _that_ happened?

When did what he felt for her grow from purely physical attraction to wanting to make her laugh?

He had no idea, but clearly sometime over the course of the past few weeks.

Vision fought the need to curse.

That certainly complicated things even further.

***

The next time he saw her was three weeks after that.

He was on his way back from one of his biweekly S.H.I.E.L.D. meetings, on which Ross had once again toyed with the idea of getting him off the case.

Vision was growing tired of his superiors’ games. They should either take the case away from him or not. He had already made peace with the possibility anyway. Threatening him with it wouldn’t change anything.

He was completely lost in thoughts as he unlocked the door to his apartment.

He sensed her presence too late.

“What’s this? An agent caught off his guard?”, she teased, paraphrasing his favorite movie as she jumped at him. He dropped his bag to catch her and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

She was playful this time, so unlike the last time he saw her, and he laughed as he kissed her.

“You’re in a good mood. I take it there’s a crime scene waiting for me somewhere out there?”, he teased and she smirked, drawing two fingers over her lips in a zipping motion.

Vision rolled his eyes. He felt what used to be his clear sense of morality blur more and more with each day he spent with her.

The Avengers had started working again two weeks ago and they were back at it with a vengeance.

Whenever he got called to a new, _spotless_ , crime scene, she always made sure that the evidence about how corrupt the victim had been made its way to his laptop soon afterwards.

The more he read about their victims, the more he found himself growing less and less immune to the Avengers’ reasoning.

Still, her victims were far from his mind as he carried her towards the couch.

“Do you have any idea” – he whispered in between kisses before laying her down – “Miss Maximoff” – a kiss to her neck – “how many times” – pulling her shirt down along with her bra – “I thought about you” – taking a nipple in his mouth – “on this couch?”

“I – _ah_ – according to my audio monitoring device – _a-agent_ – quite a lot!”, she gasped as he gently tugged her nipple between his teeth.

“I believe it’s time I did more on it than just imagine taking you”, he suggested, dragging his eyes over her writhing form.

She looked delectable, breasts heaving and spilling out of the bra and shirt that he had pulled down, face flushed and eyes twinkling with both arousal and mischief.

“Well then, agent, what are you waiting for?”, she teased and he was lost.

***

It had been the most unusual, and the most exquisite, couple of months. Miss Maximoff – _Wanda_ – would show up unannounced in his apartment whenever her team was in the United Kingdom.

Sometimes mere days passed between their encounters, sometimes it was weeks, but each time he found it harder and harder to let her go.

She let him see her at her most vulnerable, put herself at his mercy time after time, and yet the thought of betraying that trust never even crossed his mind.

The only thing that was on his mind when he had complete control of her body was how to give her so much pleasure that she would be begging him to stop.

He felt his mind wander as he stared at his laptop, not really reading the e-mail in front of him.

All he could think about was the last time she had been in his apartment, sprawled over the very table he was sitting at as he took her from behind.

Vision groaned and covered his eyes at the thought.

Oh, how she had teased him that day.

Taunting him, enticing him, and yet evading each of his attempts to touch her.

“ _You’ll have to catch me first, agent_ ”, she had whispered and set off in a run towards the kitchen. She had used his rank instead of his name and he understood. _That’s_ how she wanted to play.

He had given her a fair advantage before going in pursuit. He followed her through the kitchen, the bedroom and back to the living room, where his hand shot out to catch her wrist.

“ _Game over, Miss Maximoff_ ”, he had whispered as he brought both of her hands behind her back.

She had moaned, grinding herself against him, as she always did when he took control.

Still, he had never gone as far as he had that night, when, in a burst of inspiration, he snapped the handcuffs around her wrists, like the first time he had seen her in person.

“ _Oh god_ ”, she had whimpered, pushing her perfect backside even harder against his erection, and Vision had been swamped with relief at her reaction. He hadn’t overstepped.

In fact, he couldn’t remember her ever coming harder than she did that night.

Vision was distracted from his thoughts by his phone ringing.

He sighed.

 _Pierce_.

“Vision, I’m coming to London next week, Thursday”, he stated and Vision was caught by surprise.

Pierce was usually holed up in his office in DC and almost never left the United States. What could be so important that warranted his personal involvement?

“I want to see what is happening in the London HQ, I am concerned about the loyalty of some of the agents”, he said, answering Vision’s unasked question before adding: “And I will be dropping by your place afterwards”.

“You want to come see my apartment on Thursday, sir?” he asked, both out of confusion and because he had to warn Wanda to stay away on that day. It wouldn’t do for Pierce to find her there.

“I’m not interested in your furniture, Vision”, Pierce laughed, “I want you to show me the full progress on the ‘Avengers’ case. Each photo, each thought process, each possible lead. I’m done with these games, Vision. I want them caught, dead or alive. Is that clear, agent?”, he asked, and Vision did his best to ignore the bile rising in his throat at the thought of seeing _her_ harmed.

“Understood, sir. I will see you on Thursday”, he replied before disconnecting the call.

He let his head fall into his palms.

Great.

Just _great_.

***

“Vision here”, he answered the phone groggily as he was awoken way too early for his liking by a phone call from Ross. He quickly glanced at the clock. 5:45.

“Pierce is gone!”, Ross’ voice boomed through his ear and he moved the device a bit further, wishing to prevent eardrum damage.

“What do you mean, gone?”

“He’s dead, you idiot! Offed by your ‘Avengers’. You could have stopped them in Vienna, then none of this would have happened! It’s your fault!”.

Vision felt his blood run cold.

“Are… Are you certain he’s dead? Not just missing?”

“Very much so. His body was found half an hour ago. Or at least what was left of it. He seemed to have been ambushed on his way from the airport to the hotel around 2 AM”.

“I see… I don’t know what to say…”

He felt dizzy. He needed some time to think.

“Oh, I don’t know what to say to you either, but I will make a damn list. I expect you in my office at 1 PM sharp”.

“Yes, sir”, he managed to get out before disconnecting the call.

He felt sick. Physically ill. _Betrayed_.

He could have taken that call in his bedroom but he had stayed where he was to warn her. To keep her safe.

And she had used that trust to go after his superior and stab a knife in his back.

Why Pierce? He was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., he was one of the good guys, why would they go against him?

To evade capture?

Vision felt a sudden pang in his chest.

Had _any_ of it ever been real? Had that been her plan all along?

“ _I... I didn’t do this to gain some kind of a leverage. I did it because I wanted to. I just... I want you to know that_ ”.

Those were her words and yet it seemed like they had been nothing but a lie.

He felt so _stupid_. So naïve. How could he have possibly thought that someone like her could ever _truly_ want him? Not for what she could gain from him, but for who he was?

He should be angry, livid. He should be wanting revenge, wanting to really arrest her, but he didn’t.

He couldn’t.

For as much as _her_ feelings had been fake, his were very much real.

That’s why when he heard the telltale sound of his apartment door opening he felt his heart break all over again.

“Go away”, he pleaded, because he needed her to leave.

He needed her to walk out of his apartment and his life and never look back because if he saw her he would have to arrest her.

He couldn’t play this game anymore, his feelings be damned.

“Please just let me explain”, she said, barely audible through his bedroom door. “Or if you won’t, at least turn on the news”.

He knew he shouldn’t listen, knew he shouldn’t let her draw him further into her web of lies but he couldn’t resist.

He couldn’t resist the fool’s hope that whatever she said would somehow change things, make her betrayal of trust acceptable.

He steeled his face before opening his bedroom door.

“Very well, then. Talk”, he said, voice cold. He did his best to ignore the way she flinched at his tone.

He walked to the living room and motioned for her to sit on the couch.

He sat on the armchair, needing all the distance he could get.

He watched as she nodded and her mouth set into a firm line.

“Pierce... Pierce is the reason why the Avengers even formed. He was the piece that brought the three of us together. Now, I will tell you what I know, because I want you to try and understand, and you can do whatever you want with me and my confession, but I need you to swear that you will never share Nat's and Steve’s stories with anyone else. If you want to 'bring someone to justice'”, she added while making air quotes, “it will be me and me alone”. 

Vision was silent for a long moment but finally nodded. If she wanted to take all the blame, that was up to her. 

“You have my word”, he assured her and waited for her to continue. 

“As you probably know from your files, Nat was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, like you. One of the best. However, during her line of duty she stumbled upon hints that Pierce was corrupt. She dug deeper and over several months managed to uncover that he was the head of an underground sex trafficking organization called H.Y.D.R.A. She also found out that he had H.Y.D.R.A. spies throughout S.H.I.E.L.D. and that there was no one she could trust”. 

She took a deep breath, fingers fiddling with her hair, before she continued. 

“She knew Pierce was onto her, knew she had asked too many questions, so she went into hiding with the only people she trusted: Steve and his best friend Bucky. They were both veterans, and all three of them had ample combat experience, so she knew they could defend themselves if Pierce found them. But Bucky...”, she paused and from the shaking of her voice Vision could hear how difficult it was for her to recount those events. 

Despite feeling betrayed, a part of him wanted to just wrap his arms around her and hold her in his embrace. He willed himself to stay determined as he waited for her to continue. 

“Bucky was furious when she told him about H.Y.D.R.A. He tried to take out Pierce by himself but was captured. Steve and Nat broke into the facility where he was held, but by the time they got there, H.Y.D.R.A. had already tortured him so much that he went insane. They got him out, but he was never the same. Most of the time he can’t even recognize Steve, he’s even tried to kill him multiple times because he sometimes thinks he’s still _there_ , but those rare times when he does remember make Steve keep trying to seek him out, even from afar, just to make sure he’s safe”. 

Vision felt his heart break for these two men that he had never met, only tried to catch one of them. There was no mention of a “Bucky” in Rogers' file, just like there was no reason for the deflection in Romanov's. If she was telling the truth, Pierce went to great lengths to erase any sort of trace of his organization from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s systems. 

“I am truly sorry to hear that. However, that is only Rogers and Romanov. Where do you fit in, Miss Maximoff?” 

He could see her wince as he reverted back to her last name outside of the bedroom. It felt wrong, but he had to stay strong. 

She took in a shaky breath before wrapping her arms around herself. She seemed so tiny on his couch, so fragile, and it took him every bit of willpower not to go to her. 

“I really don’t know what’s in my file, I refused to look and see what some _stranger_ decided were my defining moments, but my twin and I grew up in a Sokovian orphanage. For as long as my memories reach, my childhood was difficult, but I always had him, I always had Pietro”, she said, voice breaking on his name. 

The words from her file flew in front of his eyes. 

Father: Django Maximoff. Deceased. 

Mother: Marya Maximoff. Deceased. 

Sibling: Pietro Maximoff. Deceased. 

There were no indications as to how they died. 

“His death is my fault”, she continued, as if hearing his thoughts. “When we were twelve, he started disappearing during the night, and when he returned, there would be hidden bruises on his body. Each time I had confronted him about it, he told me it was nothing and made me swear I wouldn’t try to follow him. Other kids were disappearing too, but they were disappearing permanently and he always came back, so I was able to keep that promise until the day we turned sixteen. I had thought that, whatever was going on with him, I was finally old enough and strong enough to protect him”. 

Vision felt his nostrils flare as he realized where her story was going. As he thought about the monster who must have been abusing her brother since he was 12. 

He couldn’t take being away from her anymore and he walked towards the couch. She was looking at him but he had a feeling she wasn’t _really_ seeing him. Her eyes were looking past him, into a time long gone, and he told her she could stop, that she didn’t have to say anything else, but she didn’t seem to hear him. He sat down close to her but didn’t touch her. He wasn’t sure if his touch would help or make the situation worse. 

“That night I snuck out and followed him to Strucker's office. He was the head of the orphanage and I remember thinking there was only one reason why he would be in his office that late and why Pietro came back from it broken. I was right. I went in there with a glass bottle, a _bottle_ ”, she laughed bitterly, “a bottle against a gun. When I opened the door Pietro looked at me with so much shock, and fear, and _panic_ in his eyes and I just froze. I can still hear Strucker’s cold voice as he taunted Pietro, telling him that he had broken his promise, and that he’d have to kill me. He took out his gun in order to shoot me but Pietro ran in front of me and took the bullets that were meant for me”. 

Her voice sounded so empty, so detached, so _different_ from the passionate woman she usually was, and how could it not be? 

Vision felt his blood boil and his mind fill with nothing but rage. His whole body was pulsing with the desire for blood. _Strucker’s_ blood. For the first time in his life he understood how someone could _want_ to kill, watch the life drain out of a person, because at the moment he wanted nothing more. Except to be able to change the past, make it all better, remove that soulless look from her eyes. 

He wrapped his arms around her, hoping she wouldn’t recoil from his touch. She didn’t. She finally looked at him instead and returned his embrace, strangled sobs escaping her. 

As heartwrenching as those sobs were, they were better than the complete detachment from before. Vision gently caressed her hair, rocking her against him as she wept, until, slowly, her tears started to recede. 

“It was _not_ your fault. It was his. And I will kill him for what he has done”, he stated, his voice belaying only a part of the rage he felt inside him. 

She chuckled, the sound of her laughter so shocking he could do nothing but stare at her as she replied. 

“He has been dead for almost five and a half years. Once he realized that he had killed the wrong person, he laughed, watching me as I cradled Pietro’s body. All I wanted was for him to finish the job but he just laughed. It was then that Steve and Nat came. They disarmed him in an instant, even though it was clear they hadn’t been expecting anyone but him. He was whimpering and begging for mercy, and Steve let out that terrifying laugh of his reserved for our targets, before grabbing his head and turning it towards us, asking him if he had been merciful to _him_. To my Pietro. Then they asked me if I wanted to do the honors and I did. I killed him. And I enjoyed it. And I would do it again a million times”, she said, some of her usual fire back in her voice. 

Vision suddenly felt extremely grateful for Rogers and Romanov. Trying to imagine a world where _she_ didn’t exist was excruciating. 

“How come they were there that night?”, he asked. 

“After taking out all the agents that had participated in torturing Bucky, they knew that Pierce was still too protected and that they’d have to wait with taking _him_ out, so they set to work to dismantle H.Y.D.R.A. facilities one by one. It turned out that the orphanage was one of the places from which they got the children for trafficking. Children no one would miss if they disappeared. The only reason I wasn’t sold is because Strucker wanted Pietro for himself and Pietro had promised to cooperate and not tell anyone if I was safe. I begged Steve and Nat to take me with them, there was nothing for me there anymore, and they did. I sometimes wish that they hadn’t even come, that he had just killed me then. But then I remember that I am the reason that so many criminals will never hurt anyone else, and I will never regret that. I will _never_ regret my actions. So now you know, you have your confession, what will you do?” 

Vision held her tighter even as he thought about the future. He had to make some big decisions, life-altering decisions, but he now knew that whatever they were, they had to include _her_. 

He had always believed that he was working for the good guys. S.H.I.E.L.D. The most affluent international organization for fighting crime. Now it seemed that their director had also been the head of an organization that tortured, killed, and sold children to slavery. 

The thought of them getting their hands on _her_ made his stomach churn. 

“Now I become your guy on the inside. The head might be gone, but if what you said about H.Y.D.R.A. is true, there are still their spies to weed out. I will help you find them, and keep them off your track”. 

“You... You’re not going to arrest me?”, she looked up at him in confusion. 

Vision let out an incredulous chuckle at her words. 

“Wanda, how many times have I had the chance to arrest you and didn’t? Let’s face it, I was only truly going to arrest you that night at the Opera”. 

“Yes, but you had no evidence before, you now have a confession”. 

He smiled, hoping his voice and words could carry over all the affection he had for her. 

“It took a whole of one encounter for that reasoning to morph into 'I don’t want to see her hurt'. Even today, when I thought you had been using me all this time to get to Pierce, I had no idea what to do, how to turn off my feelings and do what needed to be done. Now it turns out my whole job is a farce, and I have nothing in my life that matters more than you. I am done hiding my feelings. I love you, Wanda Maximoff”. 

He watched her expression go from confusion to regret and then to hopefulness, before her eyes widened and her hand flew to cover her mouth. 

“You... You do?” 

“I do. More than my career, more than my duty, more than life itself”. That was certainly something necessary, considering her part in taking many of them, but those were all disgusting humans and he found he didn’t have it in him to care about them anymore. About _justice_. As if. If S.H.I.E.L.D. was corrupted, what’s to say anything else was clean? 

She lunged at him, straddling him and kissing him through her tears. 

“I love you too”, she whispered against his lips, his neck, his ears... He shuddered, both from her words and her actions. His body reacted instantly. 

She started grinding herself on him, slowly, sensually, and he let his hands run all over her back, slipping under the hem of her shirt. 

“Make love to me, Vizh”, she whispered against his neck and he could do nothing but oblige.

His hands slipped to the back of her thighs and he got up from the couch, taking her along with him as he carried her towards his bedroom.

He gently lowered her on the bed and they undressed each other slowly, savoring each moment.

It didn’t matter how many times he had seen her like this, bare before him. Through all of their months together, he had never allowed himself to look at her without holding anything back.

But now he did.

He let all the love he felt for her flow. Now that the dam that had been holding it back had burst, there was no stopping it.

It was seeping out of his every touch, every kiss, and every word, unable to be contained inside him anymore.

When their bodies finally joined it felt like home. Like he could finally breathe. Like he was finally right where he was supposed to be.

It didn’t matter that his life would be irrevocably changed, he would figure it out as he went along.

 _They_ would.

 _Together_.

“ _Vision_ ”, she cried out as she reached her completion and he was helpless against the sound of his name coming from her lips. He heard her name slip from his own without any conscious decision on his part and they just held each other, his fingers gently exploring her face as her hands slowly mapped out his.

There would be no rushed dressing this time.

No wondering if and when she’d be back again.

“I love you, Wanda”, he whispered, leaning their foreheads together.

She smiled, closing her eyes as she yawned, before she whispered those three words back to him.

It was only 10 AM, but Vision knew she had gotten no sleep that night.

He knew it would still take him time to get used to it, to not instinctively flinch at the thought of _why_ , but it didn’t matter.

All that mattered was the way that she curled up around him.

All that mattered was the way that she, for the first time ever, fell asleep in his arms.

All that mattered was _her_.

***

Vision arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters at 12:45 PM and if the situation had been different, if his workplace hadn’t suddenly turned from a second home into a hornet’s nest, he would have smiled. Despite delaying his departure from Wanda’s sleeping form for as long he could, he still arrived 15 minutes ahead of time.

He took the elevator to Ross’ floor and waited, sitting calmly in front of his office.

Ross, however, wasn’t so calm as he rushed him in.

The vein on his forehead was popping and he was fuming as he motioned him to sit.

Vision did as he asked and looked up at his superior.

It took all of his willpower not to chuckle.

He had _actually_ made a list.

At least he was true to his word.

Vision mentally prepared himself for the onslaught that was coming.

“Where do I even begin? You’re off the case, Vision! And you’re too good of an agent for me to completely fire, but you have been suspended for two months. No pay. And afterwards I’m putting you in the field, I know how much you love your desk job and your theories, and clues, and…”

The rest of Ross’ words turned into background noise as Vision got lost in the idea of spending two months with _her_. Being able to hug her whenever he wanted, kiss her, touch her… Perhaps even help her plan.

He wondered if she was still in his bed, wearing nothing but one of his shirts. Was she still asleep?

If she wasn’t, she was probably letting her teammates know that she was safe. Or perhaps they already knew. They had audio surveillance, after all.

He looked forward to actually meeting the people that meant so much to her. For obvious reasons he couldn’t return the favor and introduce her to _his_ friends, but he didn’t have many of those to begin with.

“Agent, are you even listening to me?”, Ross interrupted his thoughts once again.

Vision was proud that he managed to keep his expression professional as he nodded, answering with a polite “yes, sir”, when all he wanted to do was smirk and tell him the truth.

 _No, sir. Not in the slightest._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we've reached the end of this journey. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)


End file.
